Hi mscajnunpie, When these canisters arrived, the glass part of the two pictured on the left were broken to bits. They were originally the "cut glass" pattern of the right one. I know you can't see this in the pic. I loved them so much and contacted seller to find a replacement. She bought them off ebay originally and didn't know manufacturer. I finally found glass vases at a craft store and glued them into the base of the two broken ones as I was determined to make it work somehow. Sorry I can't give you a manufacturer/vendor name. The tops and bases are a resin material and there's no company markings on them. If I knew where they originally came from, I'd be happy to share and I would have ordered more myself. I'd just keep searching ebay, maybe another set will pop up. Sorry to not be more help.

Paul_ma how do you like the Xenon Linear? I just saw a home display using it and was surprised how brightly and evenly it lights the under cabinet area with minimal heat. I believe the system I saw was also a Seagull and used 10Watt bulbs. Did you put your lights all on a single dimmer switch? The system I saw used a transformer built into a cabinet but the switch was able to control multiple lighting tracks that spanned several different cabinet walls. I have found that the larger strip fixtures that use Xenon lights still generate alot of heat similar to Halogen, but my impression was that heat was much less of an issue with the smaller bulbs used in linear lighting systems. Do you find the light output to be adequate? Another company I am reading up on that uses linear Xenon track lighting is called Kichler. They have both 5W and 10W bulbs available.

Thanks everyone again! Jeri the floors are 4" quartersawn white oak with a very matte finish we ordered from the factory. Heidi our kids are 22 and almost 18, but a maid...now you're talking!!! Truth be told I wouldn't ever want a maid because I would clean before the cleaning people would show up!!! But you could come for a cup of tea! Cynthia, I'm so sorry you aren't feeling well, but I hope you went out to dinner and had a great time! We're only about an hour and a half away from you, so we really should plan a get together with all the local people! Judith can drive up and stay with us, Cooperbailey can drive down and stay and then the rest of us can either come here or meet up somewhere. Cawfeegirl, I can't wait to see your pictures! We love our big window and I'm sure yours will be wonderful! They are Andersen casements on each side and then the middle one is a fixed window that doesn't open. We boxed out the window so that I could have the big shelf and to keep from having to match the brick on the exterior. Bac717, thanks so much. I will post a few before and after pics and hopefully they won't disappear this time! This is the what the LR/DR looked like before with the previous owners furnishings, we took down 2 walls that made both rooms small and chopped up and created the one big space. After, a few months ago Where you see the chairs in this picture is where the buffet sits now. We removed the gas stove/FP and that's where our white entertainment cabinet now sits. Kitchen before, we removed the peninsula and moved the sink over to where the table used to be and raised up and expanded the windows and put in another doorway in the far back right corner After, basically the same view Moved the kitchen table into the FR and created a sitting area by the new expanded windows. There used to be two window and we added 2 more. Our computers are opposite the windows in the FR, not shown in the picture. Happy New Year everyone!! Kat :)

Slate is pretty porous and needs to be well sealed---much like concrete. If you want a surface that gets patina, then Corian is it. It's the right color---the Mint Ice--and it will get small scratches and nicks in it over time. Take a look at a local kitchen showroom to see for yourself. However, Corian is non porous, and even if you leave oil on it for weeks, it will never soak in. It may be a bit of a splurge for the aqua tile you show, but it will be cheaper than the sheet glass. Last time I priced glass from a local showroom for a client, she could have done granite cheaper. You really don't have that much backsplash to cover. Maybe 12-15 square feet from the counter to the shelf? Even if the tile is $75 a square foot, that's the $1200 expense that will completely make the entire kitchen. For the back wall, I think you should do more of the horizontal glass cabinetry. They should run the length of the entire back wall, except over the range. NO OTR! This isn't the kitchen for it. You have plenty of counter space for a small MW on the right hand side of the back wall. That glass range hood would be perfect over your range.